ON THE LEFT: The Boston Globe tries to get everyone to calm the hell down

If you don’t think a variation of this scenario isn’t being sold to a wide swath of just-this-side-of-hysterical Americans on an hourly basis then I have an AM radio talk show to sell you. I’l throw in the golden microphone for free.

Happily Steven Kinzer at The Boston Globe wants everyone to sit down, shut up, and get a little perspective:

Fear is becoming part of our daily lives. Yet it is not justified by reality. The true terror threat inside the United States is a fraction of what many Americans want to believe…

Fear has a corrosive and lamentable effect on our society, especially on our children. It also poses another danger. Unjustified panic can lead not only to crackdowns on freedom at home but also self-destructive foreign wars. If we persuade ourselves that our country is threatened by terrorists in the Middle East, we may be tempted to attack “at the source.” This could turn the threat we now imagine into something real.

From The Boston Globe comments section:

“OH boy. Right wing Republican gun lovers won’t like this piece. The truth hurts but this article is spot on. The Age of Enlightenment and reason is long over and the US is consumed with irrational fear and panic”

“It has indeed gotten very sad. But on one level you have a media field day on fear and a Republican Party that likes to amplify that fear. I’m not sure who the cowards are but my “fear” is its my generation because my children don’t seem to be the least bit worried.”

“I’m flabbergasted by those who don’t seem to understand Kinzer’s main point. I’m sure any experienced politician (those that served at least 2 terms) understands. When you can’t – or won’t – deliver on an issue important to your constituents, find another one that will divert their attention; the Soviet threat served quite well. Once it fell apart, our politicians started playing musical chairs. That’s an important reason why there has been continual electoral upsets.

That is, NEITHER PARTY can deliver on ANY of these issues, so they want someone new who MIGHT deliver, and so it goes, election after election. And BTW the industry that most benefits big time is the defense industry. They absolutely LOVE these threats.

If you are not aware of the history of this principle, start reading history maybe beginning with the ancient Greeks or even just the last 2 centuries.”